Products: Harvest Box weekly snack box subscription
Price: $6.95/week
Shop: Harvest Box
Rating:  *****

Comments

I just received my first Harvest Box! Sum up in one word: YUM.

Harvest Box is a subscription to a weekly snack box which consits mainly nuts and dried fruit. It may sound ordinary but trust me, it’s not.

They mix nuts, dried fruit, seeds, and sometimes little bits of chocolates and spices to create a whole new experience of eating them. I love nuts and dried fruit but when you buy them from supermarket, they’re either too salty or too sweet. Harvest Box products are nothing like that. It’s perfect. It leaves a nice aftertaste in your mouth. They make use of the natural flavour of the ingredients to create different feels and flavours.

When you subscribe, you get to rate their mixes, so be sure to do this to avoid disspointment! They have everything ranging from conventional mixes to adventureous (there’s one with coffee beans in it!). Everyone has individual taste, there’s no way they can guess what you like/dislike unless you tell them.

For my first box I get HB Power Mix, Mont Blanc, Spiced Up, and Souk. Honestly, when I first received it, I didn’t expect much. The box actually was smaller than I imagined (it fits into my mailbox easily) but I was probably excan’t even pick which ones are my favourites! They’re all so different yet equally good.

You know the sick feeling after you eat too much of something? I usually get that after I eat a lot of nuts or dried fruit. But Harvest Box contains just right amount to eat in one go, leaving you satisfied, not sick, and looking forward to the next box next week.

On top of all of these, it’s actually healthy and full of nourishments!

If you’re interested to try, they’re offering first box free using this code: 42BSE8LL. You have nothing to loose by trying. You do need to provide credit card details, although, it looks like it’s simple enough to cancel. You can even pause your subscription whenever you like and resume at later date.

Coupon Code:  CM2010NOV

Condition: place an order of $50 or more, enter the coupon code  at the order review page.

Validity:  December 1, 2010,  midnight, GMT – 8

Comments: Good discount if you’re thinking of buying from yesstyle.

Okay, I have decided I like Deals Direct…when they give me vouchers and coupons hehe.

I bought the vacuum bags on the day when they’re giving away $10 voucher. So using that voucher, I bought a stroller net which costs $14.95 + $6.95 shipping. I found a coupon that gives me $6 off. So in total I only paid $5.90. What a bargain

I received the item today. I love it. Especially for the price I paid. I would have still loved it otherwise but I probably would just buy it from the shop to save on shipping.

The net bag you can attach on your stroller. Very handy. I can already see myself using it a lot. It seems to be of a good quality. Looks strong.

Processing + shipping took 3 days straight. That’s the best about Deals Direct. Super fast!

The net bag came with a tag that says the brand is Minene, a UK brand.

It came in a cute bag

hangs nicely on the stroller. You can actually shorten the strap. I didn’t do it in this picture.

Closer look

Closer look at the strap

PS. The $6 coupon I used is DD6BDAY. Valid until 15 Dec 2010, one per customer. Doesn’t seem to require minimum order.

Shop: StrawberryNET
Products: brand name perfume, skin care, and cosmetics
Pro: Cheap and fast
Cons: I can’t think of any!
Payment Methods accepted: Paypal, credit cards

Comments:

I love love love StrawberryNET. Ever since I discovered this shop, I refused to pay RRP price for perfume and skin care.

This shop is based in HK, but they have customised service for Australia. The price is fantastic. It comes with free shipping for skin care and cosmetics. There’s a shipping charge if you only buy perfume, but if you combine it with skin care or make up, you’ll get free shipping.

The price is generally almost half of RRP price in Australia. You get exactly the same quality. They also have loyalty discount and volume discount. Loyalty discount means for every time you order with them, your discount percentage increases. Volume discount means the more items you buy, the more discount you get. This is on top of the already discounted price!

They also often offer free gift so I usually wait for something I like. I’m someone who has no patience for make-up, I only wear make-up for special occasion so I don’t invest on branded make-up products. It’s always a nice surprise for me whenever I receive make-up free gift because they’re of a good quality brand that I can actually use. Once I received a lipgloss that I really like and my latest free gift is a black CK eyeshadow which I’m sure is a better quality than the cheap one I own.

They also randomly send you ‘We Miss You’ email offering more discount! This is on top of the loyalty and volume discount. So if you’re in no rush, it’s worth waiting for it.

The shipping is extremely fast considering it’s coming for Hong Kong. It takes just under a week to get here. They don’t go through normal postal system so they cannot post to PO BOX. If you’re not home they will leave a card and you can call them to arrange pick up or tell them to come back and leave the package in front of your door (if you think it’s safe).

If I have to pick something negative it’s probably the look of the site. At the first glance it looks untrustworthy but rest assure they’re legit and reliable. Once you get used to how the site works, you’ll actually appreciate the ease of use and fast loading.

Shop: Booktopia

Coupon Code: SUPERB

Condition: Free shipping within Australia on your order (no minimum)

Validity: until Monday, 8 November 2010

Comments: Booktopia usually charges $6 flat rate for any order so this is pretty good if you need to buy some books!

Shop: Borders Australia

Coupon Code: BAU-111010

Condition: 25% online order

Validity: until midnight Wednesday 20 October 2010

Comments: Borders already has free shipping and usually has good prices and fast delivery for in-stock items. With this extra 25% off, it’s a bargain!

Shop: YesStyle Australia (yesstyle.com.au)
Products: Asian fashion
Pro: Unique Asian fashion unavailable locally
Cons: To have a pleasant shopping experience with YesStyle, you need to know how they operate and what to expect. Although yestyle.com.au is tailored for Australian customers, it’s not located in Australia and it works nothing like a local Australian online shop (see comments below)
Payment Methods accepted: Paypal, credit cards

Comments:

I have a love-hate relationship with YesStyle. I’ve known its existence for a long time but only decided to actually buy something recently.

YesStyle stocks latest asian fashion items from clothes, bags, to shoes. Initially, they’re a global site mainly targetting North America customers with deals for US/Canada shipping. Recently, they’ve opened an “Australian site” tailored for Australian customers. The only difference between the two sites are the currency used and the shipping fee.

When ordering from Australian site, shipping fee is flat rate of $9.99 or free for order above AU$150. Shipping to Australia is slightly more expensive when you order from the global site.

Other than the currency used and the discount shipping, it is really not an Australian site because transactions are processed overseas and items are stocked overseas.

It’s easy to assume that because it’s a .com.au site, shipping will be fast just like most Australian online shop. This is not the case with YesStyle. To have a pleasant shopping experience with YesStyle, you need to know exactly how they work and what you can expect from them to avoid dissapointment.

1. Understand that it is a Hongkong based store, not Australian. This means items are stocked in Hongkong and will be shipped from there. They do not use Australian Post but a courier service. They also do not accept PO BOX. When you’re not home when the package arrive, the courier service will leave you a card and you need call them to arrange suitable time for delivery or pick up from the depot (and not your local post office).

2. Pay attention to the availablility of the products. Most of the products are shipped within 7 days, some even 21 days. They mean it when they say this. You do need to wait that long for your order to be shipped.

3. Be prepared to get some of the items you ordered cancelled. When a lot of sizes of a particular item already unavailable, be prepared for yours to be unavailable as well. They do not usually restock the same model. You’ll be refunded for the cancelled item once your order is shipped.

4.  Eventhough transaction is settled in Australian Dollar, your bank may still charged overseas transaction fee because the merchant is not an Australian merchant. Make sure you take this into account.

5. Pay attention to the measurements of the item, they’re pretty accurate.

I can confidently say that they will not deliberately scam you or cheat you but there are a lot of inconveniences that may leave you frustrated. So beware of these beforehand.

I’ve bought from YesStyle once and although I’ve been tempted many times, I’m not sure if I would do it again. First of all, the prices aren’t that cheap. Second, I just don’t like to wait for my package too long, it takes the fun out of it. I also dislike the overseas transaction fee my bank charges.

I don’t think the wait and the cost is really worth it unless it’s something I really really must have.

TIPS: Use one of these coupon code to get US$5 (or the AUD equivalent) off your order

TWITTER5

FACEBOOK5

Shop: Booktopia

Coupon Code: BOOKTOBERFEST

Condition: Free shipping within Australia on your order (no minimum)

Validity: until 11 October 2010

Comments: Booktopia usually charges $6 flat rate for any order so this is pretty good if you need to buy some books!

Coupon Code:  PAYPALFREESHIPPING

Condition: place an order of $50 (AU$60) or more, enter the coupon code  at the order review page, and then pay with PayPal.

Validity:  September 27 until October 03 (HKT).
Comments: This is a pretty good deal considering usually you have to order above $150 to get free shipping!